Apparatus for assisting in lane change and operating method thereof

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are an apparatus for assisting in a lane change and an operating method thereof. The apparatus includes a driving information collecting unit, an image generating unit, a line detecting unit, a lane change determination unit, and a danger determining unit. The apparatus calculates a danger of an accident based on an image photographed by a camera and notifies a driver of the danger of the accident in advance when two or more vehicles, which are travelling with one lane interposed therebetween, simultaneously change lanes toward the same lane, thereby enabling a driver of a vehicle to be safe according to a lane change before the driver actually changes the lane.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to Korean Patent ApplicationNumber 10-2014-0000604 filed Jan. 3, 2014, the entire contents of whichthe application is incorporated herein for all purposes by thisreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an apparatus for assisting in a lanechange and an operating method thereof, and more particularly, to anapparatus for assisting in a lane change, which, when a driver desiresto change a driving lane of a vehicle, detects whether another vehiclemoves to a lane, to which the driver desires to move the vehicle, basedon an image photographed by a camera, and notifies the driver of adanger according to the lane change in advance, and an operating methodthereof.

BACKGROUND

A currently suggested driving assisting apparatus includes a front sideassisting apparatus for a vehicle and a rear side monitoring apparatusfor a vehicle. Here, a rear side assisting apparatus for a vehicle is anapparatus installed for preventing a minor collision between a rearobject existing in a field of view, that is, a blind spot, which cannotbe confirmed through a room mirror or a side mirror when a driverreverses a vehicle, and a vehicle. That is, the rear side assistingapparatus for a vehicle is an apparatus for detecting a rear object, andgenerating an alarm when a distance between the detected rear object andthe vehicle is within a predetermined distance. Further, similar to therear side assisting apparatus for a vehicle, the front side assistingapparatus for a vehicle is an apparatus for detecting a front object,and generating an alarm when a distance between the detected frontobject and the vehicle is within a predetermined distance.

However, research on an apparatus, to which a technique for assisting ina lane change while a vehicle travels is applied, considering acurrently suggested driving assisting apparatus is inadequate.Particularly, a field view problem generated due to a lane change whilethe vehicle travels has a considerably higher risk of an accident than afield view problem generable at a front side and a rear side of thevehicle. Accordingly, a technique for assisting in a lane change while avehicle travels, and notifying a driver of a danger according to thelane change in advance has been needed.

In the meantime, a technique for detecting an obstacle existing on adriving lane of a vehicle has been disclosed as a prior art, andparticularly, the technique obtains an image of a front side of avehicle by using an outside camera for photographing a front side,analyzes the image of the front side of the vehicle, and recognizeswhether an obstacle exists on a driving lane. In this case, it isimpossible to detect whether a travelling vehicle, not an obstacle,moves, and particularly, it is impossible to help a driver to recognizea danger of an accident occurable when two or more vehicles (forexample, vehicles travelling the first lane and the third lane)simultaneously change lanes toward the same lane (for example, thesecond lane) in advance.

SUMMARY

The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a method forassisting in a lane change, which calculates a danger of an accidentbased on an image photographed by a camera and notifies a driver of thedanger of the accident in advance when two or more vehicles, which aretravelling with one lane interposed therebetween, simultaneously changelanes toward the same lane, thereby enabling a driver of a vehicle to besafe according to a lane change before the driver actually changes thelane, and an apparatus for the same.

Objects of the present invention are not limited to the objectsdescribed above, and other objects that are not described will beclearly understood by a person skilled in the art from the descriptionbelow.

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatusfor assisting in a lane change, including: a driving informationcollecting unit configured to collect driving information about a firstvehicle; an image generating unit configured to generate a driving imageincluding a lateral side image of the first vehicle by using a camera; aline detecting unit configured to detect a line of a first lane adjacentto a driving lane of the first vehicle in the driving image; a lanechange determining unit configured to determine whether the firstvehicle attempts to change a lane from the driving lane to a first lanebased on the driving information; and a danger determining unitconfigured to determine whether it is dangerous to change the lane tothe first lane based on a change in a line of the first lane detected bythe line detecting unit when it is determined that the first vehicleattempts to change the lane, and generate a danger notifying signal whenit is determined that it is dangerous to change the lane to the firstlane.

Another exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a methodof operating an apparatus for assisting in a lane change, including:generating a driving image including a lateral side image of a firstvehicle by using a camera; detecting a line of a first lane adjacent toa driving lane of the first vehicle in the driving image; collectingdriving information about the first vehicle; determining whether thefirst vehicle attempts to change a lane from the driving lane to a firstlane based on the driving information about the first vehicle;determining whether it is dangerous to change the lane to the first lanebased on a change in the line of the first lane when it is determinedthat the first vehicle attempts to change the lane; and generating adanger notifying signal when it is determined that it is dangerous tochange the lane to the first lane.

Other detailed matters of the exemplary embodiments are included in thedetailed description and the drawings.

According to the various exemplary embodiments of the present invention,when two or more vehicles, which are travelling with one lane interposedtherebetween, simultaneously change lanes toward the same lane, it ispossible to calculate a danger of an accident based on an imagephotographed by a camera and notify a driver of the danger of theaccident in advance, thereby ensuring safe drying according to the lanechange before the driver of the vehicle actually changes the lane.

Accordingly, it is possible to reduce cost necessary for manufacturingand maintaining a vehicle by utilizing the present invention as anadditional function of an around view monitoring (AVM) system and amirrorless device.

The effects of the present invention are not limited to theaforementioned effects, and other effects, which are not mentionedabove, will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from theclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where cameras aremounted in a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a situation where twovehicles attempt to change lanes toward the same lane with one laneinterposed therebetween while travelling.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an apparatus for assisting in a lane changeaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where a region ofinterest is set according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where a straightline corresponding to a line is detected by processing the region ofinterest illustrated in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a driving image displayedwhen two vehicles, which are travelling with one lane interposedtherebetween, attempt to change lanes toward the same lane.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a contour line detectedaccording to processing of the driving image illustrated in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operating method of the apparatusfor assisting in a lane change according to the exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various advantages and features of the present invention and methodsaccomplishing thereof will become apparent from the following detaileddescription of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanyingdrawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the exemplaryembodiments set forth below, and may be embodied in various other forms.The present exemplary embodiments are for rendering the description ofthe present invention complete and are set forth to provide a completeunderstanding of the scope of the invention to a person with ordinaryskill in the technical field to which the present invention pertains,and the present invention will only be defined by the scope of theclaims. Like reference numerals indicate like elements throughout thespecification.

In the present specification, constituents, which have the same names,are divided into “the first”, “the second”, and the like fordiscriminating the constituents, but the present invention is notnecessarily limited to the order in the following description.

Meanwhile, terms used in the present invention are to explain exemplaryembodiments rather than limiting the present invention. Unlessparticularly stated otherwise in the present specification, a singularform also includes a plural form. The meaning of “comprises” and/or“comprising” used in this specification does not exclude the existenceor addition of aforementioned constituent elements, steps, operations,and/or device, and one or more other constituent elements, steps,operations, and/or devices.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where cameras aremounted in a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 1, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, a camera for photographing a physical space positioned in apredetermined range from a lateral side of a vehicle may be mounted atone side of the vehicle. FIG. 1 illustrates that cameras C1 and C2 aremounted at a left side mirror and a right side mirror of the vehicle,respectively, which is only one example, but the position of the cameramounted is not specifically limited as long as the camera is mounted ata position where the camera photographs a region including a laneadjacent to a driving lane R_(D) of the vehicle and a line of thecorresponding lane.

FIG. 1 illustrates that a total of two cameras C1 and C2 are mounted,but it should be understood that any one between the left camera and aright camera may be mounted, or more cameras may be mounted at otherpoints of the vehicle. Hereinafter, the present invention will bedescribed on an assumption that the camera is mounted at the right sideof the vehicle to photograph a lateral side of the vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a situation where twovehicles attempt to change lanes toward the same lane with one laneinterposed therebetween while travelling, and the present invention willbe continuously described based on a first vehicle V1.

Referring to FIG. 2, the first vehicle V1 has the first lane from a leftside as its own driving lane R_(D), and attempts to change a lane towardthe first lane R₁ that is the most adjacent lane while travelling.Further, a second vehicle V2 has a second lane R₂ that is the third lanefrom the left side as its own driving lane R_(D), and simultaneously,attempts to change a lane toward the first lane R₁ together with thefirst vehicle V1 while travelling. Here, the second lane R₂ is a lanesharing a line L_(D) with the first lane R₁.

According to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, anobject of the present invention is to provide an apparatus forpreventing an accident between the first vehicle V1 and the secondvehicle V2 occurable in the example illustrated in FIG. 2, and anoperating method thereof, and detailed configurations and operationswill be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an apparatus 10 for assisting in a lanechange according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention,FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where a region ofinterest ROI is set according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, and FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a casewhere a straight line corresponding to a line is detected by processingthe region of interest ROI illustrated in FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 3, the apparatus 10 for assisting in a lane changeaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes adriving information collecting unit 110, an image generating unit 120, aline detecting unit 130, a lane change determining unit 140, and adanger determining unit 150. Further, the apparatus 10 for assisting ina lane change may further include an alarm unit 160.

First, the driving information collecting unit 110 collects drivinginformation about the first vehicle V1. Particularly, the drivinginformation may include movement direction information, or turn signallight operation information.

For example, when a driver operates a steering wheel in a clockwisedirection, the driving information collecting unit 110 may collectinformation indicating that the first vehicle V1 moves in a rightdirection, and when the driver operates the steering wheel in acounterclockwise direction, the driving information collecting unit 110may collect information indicating that the first vehicle V1 moves in aleft direction.

For another example, when a signal directing turning on a turn signallight mounted at the left side of the first vehicle V1 is generated, thedriving information collecting unit 110 collects information indicatingthat the first vehicle V1 may move in the left direction, and when asignal directing turning on a turn signal light mounted at the rightside of the first vehicle V1 is generated, the driving informationcollecting unit 110 collects information indicating that the firstvehicle V1 may move in the right direction.

The driving information collecting unit 110 may collect speedinformation about the first vehicle V1. The speed information about thefirst vehicle V1 collected by the driving information collecting unit110 may be utilized for setting a size of a region of interest ROI to bedescribed below.

The image generating unit 120 generates a driving image including alateral side image of the first vehicle V1 by using a camera mounted inthe first vehicle V1. In the meantime, the driving image generated bythe image generating unit 120 by using each camera mounted in the firstvehicle V1 may be formed by a plurality of frames created for everypredetermined time interval.

Referring to FIG. 4, it can be confirmed a driving image D/I including aright side image of the first vehicle V1 generated by using a camera C1mounted at the right side of the first vehicle V1. The driving image D/Iincludes a wheel of the second vehicle V2 and a part of a monitoringline L_(D) that is the line of the first lane R₁.

The lane change determining unit 140 determines whether the firstvehicle V1 attempts to change a lane from the driving lane R_(D) to thefirst lane R₁ based on the driving information. More particularly, thelane change determining unit 140 receiving the driving information aboutthe first vehicle V1 from the driving information collecting unit 110determines whether the first vehicle V1 attempts to change the lane fromthe driving lane R_(D) to the first lane (that is, the left lane or theright lane which is most adjacent to the driving lane) at a time point,at which the driving information is provided, by analyzing the drivinginformation.

For example, when the lane change determining unit 140 receivesinformation indicating that the first vehicle V1 moves in the rightdirection from the driving information collecting unit 110, the lanechange determining unit 140 determines that the first vehicle V1attempts to change the lane to the right lane between the two laneswhich are most adjacent to the current driving lane R_(D).

The line detecting unit 130 detects a monitoring line L_(D) that is theline of the first lane R₁ adjacent to the driving lane R_(D) of thefirst vehicle V1 in the driving image. The line detecting unit 130 mayinclude a region setting module 132, an edge image generating module134, and a line detecting module 136.

The region setting module 132 sets a region, which includes themonitoring line L_(D) and has a predetermined width W, as a region ofinterest ROI. Referring to FIG. 4, the region setting module 132 setsthe region of interest ROI that is a region necessary for detecting alane change of the second vehicle V2 in the entire region of the drivingimage. The region of interest ROI may be set so as to include the lineL_(D) of the first lane R₁ within the driving image D/I. Further, inorder to rapidly and accurately determine a probability of an accidentwith the second vehicle V2, the region setting module 132 may control sothat a region corresponding to a predetermined ratio (for example, 1/4time) or more of a predetermined lane width toward the first vehicle V1from the monitoring line L_(D) is included in the region of interestROI.

The region setting module 132 may receive the driving information fromthe driving information collecting unit 110, and adjust a size of theregion of interest ROI based on the driving information. For example,when a speed of the first vehicle V1 is 100 km per hour, the regionsetting module 132 may increase a size of the region of interest ROIcompared to the case where a speed of the first vehicle V1 is 50 km perhour. The reason is that when a speed of the vehicle is great, a region,in which an accident with another vehicle may occur, is increased.

The edge image generating module 134 generates an edge image E/I for theregion including the region of interest ROI set by the region settingmodule 132. Referring to FIG. 5A, it can be seen that a first contourline E1 is detected from the driving image illustrated in FIG. 4.Referring to FIG. 4, those skilled in the art may easily recognize thatthe first contour line E1 illustrated in FIG. 5A corresponds to themonitoring line L_(D). The edge image may be generated by using apublicly known method, such as a sobel edge detection algorithm, suchthat a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The line detecting module 136 calculates an equation of a straight linefor one or more contour lines including the first contour line E1 thatis a contour line corresponding to a predetermined line shape within theedge image E/I generated by the edge image generating module 134. FIG.5A illustrates only the single first contour line E1 for convenience ofthe description.

The line detecting module 136 may calculate a size of the contour line,and perform line fitting so as to correspond to the calculated size.Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 5B, the line detecting module 136 maycalculate a straight line S1 approximated to the first contour line E1.

In the meantime, referring to FIG. 4, it can be seen that a disconnectedregion exists at a part of the left side of the monitoring line L_(D),and thus the first straight line for the monitoring line L_(D)calculated by the line detecting module 136 does not have a part of theleft side thereof as illustrated in FIG. 5B.

Accordingly, the line detecting module 136 may confirm whether adisconnected region exists in the first contour line E1 of the edgeimage. For example, a larger disconnected region than the monitoringline L_(D) illustrated in FIG. 4 may exist, or in a severe case, all ofthe monitoring line L_(D) may be temporarily removed or a hidden roadregion may exist. When the disconnected region exists in the firstcontour line E1, the line detecting module 136 may generate a virtualline L_(V) interpolating the disconnected region by using the equationof the straight line for the first contour line E1.

The line detecting module 136 may generate the virtual line L_(V) basedon a past history in which information about the equation of thestraight line of the first contour line E1 is accumulated by apredetermined number of times. For example, in the case where aninclination of the equation of the straight line of the first contourline E1 is calculated as 1 in an N−3^(rd) frame, 1.1 in an N−2^(nd)frame, and 1.2 in an N−1^(st) frame, when the equation of the straightline of the first contour line is updated by accumulating a past historyfor the aforementioned three frames even though the monitoring lineL_(D) is not detected in an N^(th) frame that is a current frame, theline detecting module 136 may interpolate the disconnected region bygenerating the virtual line L_(V) by estimating the equation of thestraight line of the first contour line E1 in the N^(th) frame.

Accordingly, even though the monitoring line L_(D) has a form of adotted line indicating a road on which a lane change is allowed, it ispossible to more accurately detect whether the second vehicle V2, whichchanges the lane from the second lane R₂ to the first lane R₁, exists.

In the meantime, the line detecting module 136 may determine whether asecond contour line E2, which is a different contour line from the firstcontour line E1, exists as a contour line corresponding to the line inthe edge image E/I, and calculate an equation of a straight line for thesecond contour line E1, so that a detailed operation thereof will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a driving image displayedwhen two vehicles, which are travelling with one lane interposedtherebetween, attempt to change lanes toward the same lane, and FIG. 7is a diagram illustrating an example of a contour line detectedaccording to processing of the driving image illustrated in FIG. 6.

First, referring to FIG. 6, differently from FIG. 4, it can be seen thata wheel of the second vehicle V2 deviates from the monitoring line L_(D)at one side of the region of interest ROI set by the region settingmodule 132 according to a movement of the second vehicle V2 toward thefirst vehicle V1 from the second lane R₂.

When a driving image D/I generated in the situation illustrated in FIG.6 is analyzed, an edge image E/I illustrated in FIG. 7 may be generated.Referring to FIG. 7, it can be confirmed a situation where a part of themonitoring line L_(D) is hidden by the wheel of the second vehicle V2,so that a disconnected region is generated in the first contour line E1in a region corresponding to a hidden part, and simultaneously a part,at which the vehicle of the second vehicle V2 is in contact with aground, is detected as the second contour line E2. Accordingly, the linedetecting module 136 may calculate an equation S2 of a straight line forthe second contour line E2 by the same method as that of calculating anequation S1 of a straight line for the first contour line E1.

The danger determining unit 150 determines whether the first contourline E1 and the second contour line E2 are simultaneously detected bythe line detecting module 136. Here, the first contour line E1 may berelated to the actual monitoring line L_(D), and the second contour lineE2 may be related to the second vehicle V2 which may be erroneouslyrecognized as the monitoring line L_(D). The case where only one betweenthe first contour line E1 and the second contour line E2 is detected isthe case where at least one vehicle between the first vehicle V1 and thesecond vehicle V2 does not attempt to change the lane, so that the casemay be excluded from a situation of generating a danger notifyingsignal.

When the first contour line E1 and the second contour line E2 aresimultaneously detected in the single edge image, the danger determiningunit 150 may compare the equation of the straight line for the firstcontour line E1 and the equation of a straight line for the secondcontour line E2, and calculate an inclination difference or an interceptdifference.

When each of the inclination and the intercept is equal to or greaterthan a predetermined threshold value as a result of the calculation ofthe inclination difference or the intercept difference, the dangerdetermining unit 150 may generate the danger notifying signal. When theinclination difference or the intercept difference between the equationof the straight line for the first contour line E1 and the equation ofthe straight line for the second contour line E2 is calculated to beequal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value, it cannot beprocessed as the inclination difference or the intercept difference iscalculated from the same monitoring line L_(D).

By contrast, when it is determined that the inclination difference orthe intercept difference is smaller than the predetermined thresholdvalue, the danger determining unit 150 may determine whether adisconnected region, which is continuously detected for a predeterminedtime or longer, exists in one or more disconnected regions detected bythe line detecting module 136.

In general, a line allowing the lane change has a form of a dotted line.In a normal line having the form of a dotted line, a frame configuringthe driving image is continuously generated according to the travellingof the vehicle in a front direction, so that a process, in which aspecific disconnected region disappears and another disconnected regionappears, needs to be performed.

When the same disconnected region is continuously detected for apredetermined time or in a predetermined number or more of frames in thedisconnected regions detected by the line detecting module 136, thedisconnected region may be detected for a part of another vehicle, notthe line in the form of the dotted line. For example, referring to FIG.7, the reason is that when the second vehicle V2 deviates from themonitoring line L_(D) and enters the first lane while travelling at aspeed similar to that of the first vehicle V1, a disconnected regiongenerated in the first contour line by a part (for example, a wheel) ofthe second vehicle V2 may be continuously detected for a predeterminedtime or in a plurality of frames.

Accordingly, when the disconnected region is continuously detected forthe predetermined time or in the predetermined number or more of frames,the danger determining unit 150 may generate the danger notifyingsignal.

When the alarm unit 160 receives the danger notifying signal from thedanger determining unit 150, the alarm unit 160 outputs an alertcorresponding to the danger notifying signal. The alarm unit 160 mayinclude one or more output devices, such as a display module, a soundmodule, or a haptic module, for outputting a danger according to thelane change so that the driver may recognize the danger. For example,when the alarm unit 160 receives the danger notifying signal, the alarmunit 160 makes a control so that a beep repeated at a predeterminedcycle is output through a sound module, a message in a text form isdisplayed on a display module, or a vibration having a predeterminedpattern is generated by a haptic module.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operating method of the apparatusfor assisting in a lane change according to the exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the image generating unit 120 generates a drivingimage D/I including a lateral side image of a first vehicle V1 by usinga camera (S805).

Next, the line detecting unit 130 detects a line of a first laneadjacent to a driving lane R_(D) of the first vehicle V1 in the drivingimage D/I (S810). Particularly, operation S810 may include setting aregion, which includes the line of the first lane and has apredetermined width, as a region of interest ROI (S811), generating anedge image E/I for the region including the region of interest ROI(S812), and calculating an equation of a straight line for one or morecontour lines including a first contour line E1 that is a contour linecorresponding to the line within the edge image E/I (S814).

In the meantime, the driving information collecting unit 110 collectsdriving information about the first vehicle V1 (S820). Operation S820may be performed after operation S805 or S810 is completed. Otherwise,it should be understood that operation S820 may be simultaneouslyperformed with operation S805 or S810. When operation S820 is completed,the lane change determining unit 140 determines whether the firstvehicle V1 attempts to change a lane from the driving lane R_(D) to afirst lane R₁ based on the driving information about the first vehicleV1 (S830). When it is determined in operation S830 that the firstvehicle V1 does not attempt to change the lane from the driving laneR_(D) to a first lane R₁, the method may return to operation S820.

Next, the danger determining unit 150 determines whether it is dangerousto change the lane to the first lane based on a change in a line of thefirst lane (S840). Particularly, in operation S840, the dangerdetermining unit 150 may determine whether the first contour line E1 anda second contour line E2 are simultaneously detected (S841), when thefirst contour line E1 and the second contour line E2 are simultaneouslydetected, the danger determining unit 150 may compare an equation of astraight line for the first contour line E1 and an equation of astraight line for the second contour line E2 and calculate aninclination difference or an intercept difference (S842), and determinewhether the calculated inclination difference or intercept difference isequal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value (S843).

When the inclination difference or the intercept difference is equal toor greater than the predetermined threshold value as a result of thedetermination in operation S843, the danger determining unit 150 maydetermine that it is dangerous to change the lane to the first lane R₁(S846).

However, when the inclination difference or the intercept difference issmaller than the predetermined threshold value as a result of thedetermination in operation S843, the danger determining unit 150determines whether one or more disconnected regions exist in the firstcontour line E1 (S844) before performing operation S846, and when one ormore disconnected regions exist in the first contour line E as a resultof the determination, the danger determine unit 150 may additionallydetermine whether the disconnected region continuously detected for apredetermined time or longer exists in the disconnected regions (S845).As a result of the determination in operation S845, when thedisconnected region continuously detected for the predetermined time orlonger exists, the aforementioned operation S846 may be performed.

Next, the danger determining unit 150 generates a danger notifyingsignal (S850). The danger notifying signal may be a signal for notifyinga driver of the first vehicle V1 that it is presently dangerous tochange the lane to the first lane R₁.

Next, the alarm unit 160 outputs an alert corresponding to the dangernotifying signal (S860). For example, when the alarm unit 160 receivesthe danger notifying signal, the alarm unit 160 makes a control so thata beep repeated at a predetermined cycle is output through a soundmodule, a message in a text form is displayed on a display module, or avibration having a predetermined pattern is generated by a hapticmodule.

The above-mentioned exemplary embodiments of the present invention arenot embodied only by an apparatus and a method. Alternatively, theabove-mentioned exemplary embodiments may be embodied by a programexecuting functions, which correspond to the configuration of theexemplary embodiments of the present invention, or a recording medium onwhich the program is recorded. These embodiments can be easily devisedfrom the description of the above-mentioned exemplary embodiments bythose skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains.

In the present invention, various substitutions, modifications, andchanges can be made within the scope without departing from thetechnical spirit of the present invention by those skilled in the art,and as a result, the present invention is not limited to theaforementioned embodiments and the accompanying drawings, but theentirety or a part of the respective exemplary embodiments may beselectively combined and implemented for various modifications.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for assisting in a lane change,comprising: a camera mounted on a driving vehicle and configured tophotograph a common line shared by a first neighboring lane and a secondneighboring lane at a lateral side of the driving vehicle while thedriving vehicle moves on a driving lane, the first neighboring lanebeing positioned between the driving lane and the second neighboringlane; and circuitry mounted on the driving vehicle and configured to:collect driving information about the driving vehicle, generate adriving image including a part of the first neighboring lane and thecommon line photographed by the camera, detect the common line shared bythe first neighboring lane and the second neighboring lane in thedriving image, determine whether the driving vehicle attempts to changea lane on which the driving vehicle moves from the driving lane to thefirst neighboring lane based on the driving information, determinewhether a neighboring vehicle moving on the second neighboring lane ischanging a lane on which the neighboring vehicle moves from the secondneighboring lane to the first neighboring lane, by analyzing the commonline in the driving image, and determine whether it is dangerous for thedriving vehicle to change the lane on which the driving vehicle movesfrom the driving lane to the first neighboring lane based on adetermination whether the neighboring vehicle is changing the lane onwhich the neighboring vehicle moves from the second neighboring lane tothe first neighboring lane, and generate a danger notifying signal whenit is determined that it is dangerous for the driving vehicle to changethe lane on which the driving vehicle moves from the driving lane to thefirst neighboring lane.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:an alarm unit configured to output an alert in response to the dangernotifying signal when receiving the danger notifying signal, wherein thealarm unit includes at least one of a displaying device, a speaker, anda haptic module which generates a vibration having a predeterminedpattern.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the driving informationincludes movement direction information or turn signal light operationinformation about the driving vehicle.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the circuitry is further configured to: set a region, whichincludes the common line and has a predetermined width, as a region ofinterest; generate an edge image for the region of interest; andcalculate an equation of a straight line for one or more contour linesincluding a first contour line that is a contour line corresponding tothe common line within the edge image.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4,wherein the circuitry is further configured to make a control such thata region corresponding to ¼ or more of a predetermined lane width towardthe driving vehicle from the common line is included in the region ofinterest.
 6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein when a disconnectedregion exists in the first contour line, the circuitry generates avirtual line for interpolating the disconnected region by using theequation of the straight line for the first contour line.
 7. Theapparatus of claim 6, wherein the circuitry is further configured togenerate the virtual line based on a past history in which informationabout the equation of the straight line of the first contour line isaccumulated by a predetermined number of times.
 8. The apparatus ofclaim 4, wherein when a second contour line, which is a differentcontour line from the first contour line, exists as a contour linecorresponding to the common line in the edge image, the circuitrycalculates an equation of a straight line for the second contour line.9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the circuitry determines whetherthe first contour line and the second contour line are simultaneouslydetected.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein, when the first contourline and the second contour line are simultaneously detected, thecircuitry compares the equation of the straight line for the firstcontour line and the equation of the straight line for the secondcontour line, and calculates an inclination difference or an interceptdifference.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein when the inclinationdifference or the intercept difference is equal to or greater than apredetermined threshold value, the circuitry generates the dangernotifying signal.
 12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein when theinclination difference or the intercept difference is smaller than thepredetermined threshold value, the circuitry determines whether adisconnected region, which is continuously detected for a predeterminedtime or longer, exists in the one or more disconnected regions detected,and when the disconnected region, which is continuously detected for thepredetermined time or longer, exists, the circuitry generates the dangernotifying signal.
 13. A method of operating an apparatus for assistingin a lane change, comprising: photographing, using a camera mounted on adriving vehicle, a common lane shared by a first neighboring lane and asecond neighboring lane at a lateral side of the driving vehicle whilethe driving vehicle moves on a driving lane, the first neighboring lanebeing positioned between the driving lane and the second neighboringlane; generating, by circuitry mounted on the driving vehicle, a drivingimage including a part of the first neighboring lane and the common linephotographed by the camera; detecting, by the circuitry, the common lineshared by the first neighboring lane and the second neighboring lane inthe driving image; collecting, by the circuitry, driving informationabout the driving vehicle; determining, by the circuitry, whether thedriving vehicle attempts to change a lane on which the driving vehiclemoves from the driving lane to a first neighboring lane based on thedriving information about the driving vehicle; determining, by thecircuitry, whether a neighboring vehicle moving on the secondneighboring lane is changing a lane on which the neighboring vehiclemoves from the second neighboring lane to the first neighboring lane, byanalyzing the common line in the driving image; determining, by thecircuitry, whether it is dangerous for the driving vehicle to change thelane on which the driving vehicle moves from the driving lane to thefirst neighboring lane based on a determination whether the neighboringvehicle is changing the lane on which the neighboring vehicle moves fromthe second neighboring lane to the first neighboring lane; andgenerating, by the circuitry, a danger notifying signal when it isdetermined that it is dangerous for the driving vehicle to change thelane on which the driving vehicle moves from the driving lane to thefirst neighboring lane.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:outputting an alert in response to the danger notifying signal, whereinthe alert includes at least one of a message displayed by a displaydevice, a beep sound output by a speaker, and a vibration having apredetermined pattern and generated by a haptic module.
 15. The methodof claim 13, wherein the detecting, by the circuitry, the common lineincludes: setting a region, which includes the common line and has apredetermined width, as a region of interest; generating an edge imagefor the region of interest; and calculating an equation of a straightline for one or more contour lines including a first contour line thatis a contour line corresponding to the common line within the edgeimage.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the calculating of theequation of the straight line includes calculating an equation of astraight line for a second contour line, which is a different contourline from the first contour line, as a contour line corresponding to thecommon line in the edge image.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein thedetermining, by the circuitry, whether it is dangerous for the drivingvehicle to change the lane on which the driving vehicle moves from thedriving lane to the first neighboring lane includes: determining whetherthe first contour line and the second contour line are simultaneouslydetected; when the first contour line and the second contour line aresimultaneously detected, comparing the equation of the straight line forthe first contour line and the equation of the straight line for thesecond contour line, and calculating an inclination difference or anintercept difference; and determining whether the inclination differenceor the intercept difference is equal to or greater than a predeterminedthreshold value.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the determining, bythe circuitry, whether it is dangerous for the driving vehicle to changethe lane on which the driving vehicle moves from the driving lane to thefirst neighboring lane includes determining that it is dangerous for thedriving vehicle to change the lane on which the driving vehicle movesfrom the driving lane to the first neighboring lane when the inclinationdifference or the intercept difference is equal to or greater than thepredetermined threshold value.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein thedetermining, by the circuitry, whether it is dangerous for the drivingvehicle to change the lane on which the driving vehicle moves from thedriving lane to the first neighboring lane further includes: determiningwhether one or more disconnected regions exist in the first contour linewhen the inclination difference or the intercept difference is smallerthan the predetermined threshold value; and determining whether adisconnected region, which is continuously detected for a predeterminedtime or longer, exists in the disconnected regions, and when thedisconnected region, which is continuously detected for thepredetermined time or longer, exists, it is determined that it isdangerous for the driving vehicle to change the lane on which thedriving vehicle moves from the driving lane to the first neighboringlane.